Dr Paul Allen

“Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” ( 2 Peter 3:8 ) Some  Christians today are willing to compromise God ’s clear revelation. God has made it as clear as plain words could make it, that “in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is” ( Exodus 20:11 ). At face value each day appears to be 24 hours.  Yet because evolutionary “science” has alleged that the earth is billions of years old. 2 Peter 3:8 is perhaps the key verse of the so-called “ progressive creationists ” who try to correlate the days of creation in Genesis with the supposed 4.6 billion-year system of evolutionary geological ages, by citing Peter as agreeing that “one day is a thousand years.” But, Peter is saying that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years”! That is, God can do in one day what might, by natural processes, take a thousand years.  2 Peter 3:8 “wi...

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead ; so that they are without excuse.” ( Romans 1:20 ) " God 's invisible qualities - This powerful verse introduces Paul’s burning description of the descent of ancient human societies that once “knew God” ( Romans 1:21 ) into evolutionary paganism, idolatry, and wickedness. This deterioration was willful and inexcusable, for they had abundant evidence of God’s nature and power in the very creation which they had chosen to worship instead of the Creator ( Romans 1:25 ). Even though God Himself was invisible (being omnipresent), they could easily see the evidence of His existence and His grace in creating and sustaining all things, “for God hath shewed it unto them” ( Romans 1:19 ). “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork” ( Psalm 19:1 ). Since these things were “c...

Frans Floris - The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Gathering and Protecting Mankind - WGA7949 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father , and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him . . . he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” ( John 14:8-9 )   Theologians have wrestled with the dual nature of the Lord Jesus since the beginning. On the one hand, there are those who deny or belittle His humanity, and on the other hand, there are those who deny His deity. Both natures are completely true: Jesus is fully human and fully God .   The prophets identified the coming Messiah as fully God. Isaiah 9:6 is the “naming” prophecy that specifies that the Messiah would be called “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace .”  Isaiah  7:14  specifies that “the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel .” Matth...

“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” ( Psalm 85:10 ) The words “mercy” ( Hebrew checed, also often translated by “kindness” or “lovingkindness”) and “truth” (Hebrew emeth) occur more often in the psalms than in any other book. In fact, “mercy” occurs more in the psalms than in all the rest of the Old Testament put together. Though at first these two concepts seem opposed to each other (for how can God ’s truth, which abhors sin, be compatible with His mercy, which forgives sin?), nevertheless they are “met together,” for “his salvation,” according to the previous verse, “is nigh them that fear him” (v. 9). “Mercy and truth” (or “lovingkindness and truth”) are brought together at least 16 times in the Old Testament, including 10 times in the psalms. And when God’s eternal truth can be united with His loving mercy, both mediated through His Holy Word, there is great blessing indeed! “All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto...

Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553): Adam and Eve. Beech wood, 1533. Bode-Museum, Berlin (Erworben 1830, Königliche Schlösser, Gemäldegalerie Kat. 567) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) God ’s goal in all of His creative and redemptive work is to bring glory to Himself (Isa 43:7; cf. Eph 1:6, 12, 14). This is expressed in His creation mandate to Adam and Eve , in which He commissions man, as those uniquely made in His image, to rule over the earth in righteousness (Gen  1:28 ). Man is to bring glory to God by their manifesting His presence as His vice-regent throughout all creation. But immediately Adam and Eve fail in their commission. The serpent deceives Eve, Adam eats of the forbidden tree, and in that moment the human race is catapulted into spiritual death and damnation (Gen 3:1–7). The Seed of the Woman And just as immediately, God graciously promises that He will send the seed of the woman to crush the head of the serpent and undo the damage of man’s curse into...

English: Asa destroys the idols and forbids worship in local shrines (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Indeed you are nothing, and your work is nothing he who chooses you is an abomination” (Isa. 41:24). The passage before us condemns those who are foolish enough to worship idols. It exposes the futility of putting something in the place of God , for if we think rationally about it, nothing created can be the cause of our existence. Nothing created can know itself perfectly from beginning to end. Nothing created has any power over itself, much less power over those things it does not understand. Isaiah knew that when the Jews were taken into exile they would be mocked by the Babylonians and Persians for their devotion to Jehovah . They would be ridiculed as being simple-minded and naive. To help prepare the Jews, Isaiah reminded them through this prophecy that those who worship idols are the foolish ones. Did idols foretell the fall of the Assyrians?  Did idols foretell th...

English: Job's Sons and Daughters Overwhelmed by Satan, by William Blake. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Satan is a source of adversity: Satan. In one sense he is ultimately behind all adversity. He is directly responsible for Adam and Eve’s being led astray and, therefore, for the calamity that followed. However, his involvement in adversity extends far beyond his activity in the Garden of Eden . He is alive and active today. Several biblical accounts illustrate Satan’s role in adversity. The clearest example is the story of Job. Those who attribute all adversity to sin of some kind or a lack of faith have a difficult time with this narrative. They attribute Job’s problems to his pride or the sin of his children. But the writer puts those theories to rest in the first verse of the book. There was a man in the land of Uz , whose name was Job, and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God , and turning away from evil.  Job 1:1 , emphasis Later in the same chapter God Himsel...

Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Oftentimes adversity comes as a result of our own doing. Jesus ’ disciples were not completely off base in their approach to discerning the cause behind the man’s blindness. Adversity is in many cases the result of sin. In fact, sin always results in adversity of some kind. James writes, But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.  —James 1:14–15 Sin always results in some form of death. Sometimes it is physical death , but usually it is more subtle. Sin causes our relationships to die. It causes our self–esteem to die. Certain sins kill ambition and discipline. All of these forms of death result in adversity to some degree. The classic case would be the story of Adam and Eve . Their lives were free of adversity. There was no sickness, death, decay, or suffering of any kin...